Citing web sources

A curriculum for critical thinking and web

research This plan is part of a
critical thinking and web
Skill level: Advanced research curriculum
developed by the International
School level: Middle school (11–13 years old)
Society for Technology in
High school (14–18 years old)
Education
(ISTE) and Microsoft.
www.microsoft.com/education/criticalthinking
Prerequisite skills needed
Students need to have basic computer use skills,
such as the ability to launch Internet Explorer®, type into search boxes,
validate the reliability of an Internet source (see the “Validity” lesson plans
for ideas), and navigate through webpages to locate important information.

Synopsis of lesson
Teachers develop a project within their content area that requires students to
conduct outside research using the Bing™ search engine. Teachers assign a
research topic for
the students to investigate. Students cite online sources independently while
using
available technology.

Rationale for lesson

As students refine their website documentation skills, this lesson provides an
opportunity for them to electronically document the sources they cite.

Essential concepts / questions

Essential question for teachers:
♦ How can I support students in documenting web resources more
effectively while using technology?
Essential question for students:
♦ How can I effectively document information and cite the sources found
using the Bing search engine when conducting research on a specific
topic?
National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)
NETS-T
♦ 4A: Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital
information and technology, including respect for copyright,
intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
NETS-S
♦ 3B: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use
information from a variety of sources and media.
♦ 3C: Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on
the appropriateness to specific tasks.

Teacher preparation
♦ Teachers should develop clear criteria for the project, including
guiding questions that the students should address in their research,
plus a project-scoring rubric.
♦ If students are working in cooperative groups, teachers should
develop specific roles and responsibilities that provide for individual
and group accountability.
♦ Teachers should develop samples of graphic organizers or criteria for
students’ note-taking and for citing sources.
♦ Teachers should provide students with a clear rubric which delineates
the number of required resources, the format for citing such
resources, and expectations for images.
♦ Teachers should become familiar with the Reference features in
Microsoft
Office Word 2007 (see link in the “Related resources and tutorials”
section of this document).

Management issues
Teachers must consider students’ availability for labs and should take into
account the time spent on research and documentation. Also, if students are to
locate and document information electronically, teachers should consider
where those files will be stored. Teachers can develop storage folders on the
school’s network or folders on Windows Live™ SkyDrive™. Finally, teachers
should determine how much time will be allotted for research, documentation,
and preparation of the final product.
Instruction
As students are researching content-specific topics, teachers direct them to
cite each web source. Teachers provide the students with a template of the
appropriate style for documentation: “Citing web sources – Student worksheet
– Modern Language Association
(MLA) 1: Documentation of Internet resources” or “Citing web sources –
Student worksheet - American Psychological Association (APA) 1:
Documentation of Internet resources.” In
the Beginner and Intermediate lessons, teachers modeled suitable examples of
citing Internet resources. Students now have an opportunity to choose
appropriate websites
and to demonstrate their knowledge of citing online resources while using
Microsoft
Office Word 2007 and 2010 Reference features and www.citationmachine.net
as documentation. See supplementary material, “Citing web sources – Teacher
demo – Advanced.”

Student activities / guidance

During the lesson, teachers give students directions to electronically document
the located sources. The basic information necessary includes: author (if
given); title of the webpage; title of the website; date published or last revised;
publishing organization or owner of the site; date retrieved; and the web URL.
The teachers provide the potential research topics. This lesson is an
independent activity designed to show mastery of the ability to cite
online sources.

Assessment
Teachers may have students record their responses as an “exit ticket” or other
form that provides evidence of the students’ knowledge of how to cite web
sources.
Students answer the essential question:
♦ How can I effectively cite the sources found using the Bing search
engine when conducting research on a specific topic?
Resources
♦ Bing User Guide: How to use Bing
◊ http://www.nirmaltv.com/2009/06/01/bing-detailed-user-guide
♦ The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
◊ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
♦ Tutorial on using Reference features in Microsoft Office Word 2007
◊ http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2007/Word/references.asp
♦ Citations in Office Word 2007
◊ http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA102004981033.aspx
♦ Create a bibliography in Office Word 2007
◊ http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100674921033.aspx?
pid=CH100626361033
♦ Citation Machine
◊ http://citationmachine.net/index2.php
♦ Windows Live SkyDrive
◊ http://skydrive.live.com/
♦ See the “Mechanics of effective searching” lesson plan for ideas and
guidelines.
♦ See the “Validity” lesson plan for ideas and guidelines.
♦ See the “Plagiarism” lesson plan for ideas and guidelines.

Closure and reflection

Questions for closure and student reflection when reviewing student activity
and learning:
♦ Does having to document this information change your view of some
websites? Are some more valid and reliable than others?
♦ Do you have more questions about the validity and accuracy of the
websites
you used?
♦ How does this affect your research process?
Teacher reflection questions
♦ Ask students to reflect upon their own work and the work of the group.
♦ Were there any unforeseen management issues?
♦ Will students be able to complete this type of lesson more
independently next time?
♦ How can you manage your time more effectively when conducting
research and citing sources?

Supplementary materials
♦ “Citing web sources – Teacher demo – Advanced”
♦ “Citing web sources – Student worksheet – Modern Language
Association (MLA) 1: Documentation of Internet resources” or “Citing
web sources – Student worksheet - American Psychological Association
(APA) 1: Documentation of Internet resources”

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